Jalal Barzanji
| birth_place = Arbil, Kurdistan, Iraq | occupation = poet, social worker, writer, activist | nationality = Kurdish | ethnicity = | citizenship = Canadian | education = | alma_mater = | period = | genre = | subject = | notableworks = | spouse = Sabah Tahir | influenced = | awards = RISE award}} Jalal Barzanji (born 1953) is a contemporary Kurdish-Canadian poet and prose writer. Life Youth Barzanji was born in Arbil, a small Kurdish village in northern Iraq. He grew up the second oldest brother in his family of 7 (now 6, as his a younger brother passed in 1983 at a young age) siblings. Jalal was different from his other siblings in that most of his time was spent reading books, and writing. As a child his mother would lovingly complain over his fascination with books. Although he played sports such as soccer, his truest love was of literature. An honors student all through school, and an incredibly sociable person, Jalal chose a to become a teacher, where his love of literature would extend into his job. Imprisonment and flight Soon Jalal became a magazine editor, around the same time he met his wife, also a poet. He has served on the board of the Writers' Union and was Executive Director of Ministry of Culture in Iraqi Kurdistan. He left Iraqi-Kurdistan in 1996 due to an ongoing civil war in Kurdistan. He was imprisoned for many of the articles and poems he wrote in 1986-1989, during which time he endured torture under Saddam Hussein’s regime because of his literary and journalistic achievements. For those 3 years in Iraq, Barzanji wrote only on scrap paper smuggled into his cell. Upon being released from prison, he fled to Turkey, where his family soon met him and where they resided for 2 years before being accepted as immigrants to Canada. He has been living in Canada since 1998. He helped establish the Canadian Kurdish Friendship Association and the Edmonton Immigrant Support Network Society. He has published 6 books of poetry. Recognition Barzanji was the 2004 recipient of a RISE award. He was appointed as the Edmonton-PEN Canada Writer-in-Exile for 2007-2008. Publications Poetry * The Dawning of the Evening Snow. Kurdistan: Jamour Publishing, 1979. * Unwarm. Baghdad: Rashid Publishing, 1985. * War. Iraqi Kurdistan: Gew Books, 1996. * Holy Rain. Iraqi Kurdistan: Kurdish Ministry of Culture Publishing, 2002. * On Going back to Birth Place. Iraqi Kurdistan: Mnara Publishers, 2007. *''Trying Again to Stop Time: Selected poems'' (translated by Sabah A. Salih). Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press, 2015.Search results = au:Jalal Barzanji, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 27, 2015. Non-fiction *''The Man in Blue Pyjamas: A prison memoir''. Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta Press, 2011. Except where noted, bibiliographical information courtesy Jalal Barzanji.About, Jalal Barzanji. Web, Aug. 26, 2015. See also *Asian-Canadian poets *List of Canadian poets References External links ;Poems *"War" ;Audio / video *Jalal Barzanji at YouTube ;About *Jalal Barzanji at the Edmonton Poetry Festival, 2015 *Speaking to the World: The poetry of Jalal Barznji at Kurdish Academy of Languages *Jalal Barzanji Official website. *"Jalal Barzanji on Freedom of Expression" Avenue interview, 2011 *Jalal Barzanji on on the gift of writing what he wants, CBC interview, 2015. Category:1956 births Category:Canadian poets Category:Kurdish poets Category:Living people Category:Canadian writers of Asian descent Category:21st-century poets Category:Poets Category:Canadian poets of Asian descent